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My friend Jason Womack just published his first book: Your Best Just Got Better: Work Smarter, Think Bigger, Make More (available at Amazon). Jason is CEO and founder of The Jason Womack Company, which provides customized training on workplace performance. He is an executive coach teaching others how to, as he says, work smart, think big, and make more.

The very first time I met Jason he told me that the book Don’t Shoot The Dog, by Karen Pryor, had a big impact on his teaching style. This book revolutionized animal training and is a must-read for every animal trainer and behaviorist. I was impressed with Jason and his openness to learn skills from many different avenues. Since then I have been soaking in his knowledge via his newsletters.

Laura Stinchfield

My mind and Jason’s mind, I speculate, are very different. As a “psychic,” time management has never been my best skill. I spend hours a day conversing with animals, babies, and dead beings in different dimensions. Time in my world, I imagine, is not as grounded as it is Jason’s reality. Therefore, I couldn’t wait to learn some basic skills in Jason’s book so I could put them into practice.

I have only just begun the book and Jason has just got me thinking, “What are my M.I.T.’s (most important things)? Am I a noun person or a verb person?” and also contemplating whether I should write my goals with dry-erase pen on my bathroom mirror.

His first exercise is to write about my Ideal Day. To quote Jason in the introduction, “Think deeply about what an Ideal Day would look like, sound and feel like. Take some time – right now – to draft your detailed description of one. Put it somewhere you can review it, daily or weekly…”

Laura Stinchfield

Stormy

Now since this is a pet-related article, I am going to ask Stormy, my 12-year-old Aussie, to tell me what is his Ideal Day looks like. Stormy says, “My ideal day is to wake up slowly and sleep with my mom on the bed while she writes and drinks her coffee; then we get up and get in the car and go to the beach. Maybe our friends will meet us there. The beach is sunny but cool and I feel very energetic. Luca (13-month-old poodle puppy) finds a lot of other puppies to play with. Mom brings treats to train him, and I show him how I know how to do ‘heel’ and a perfect ‘come’ and ‘stay’. Then we drive home and I eat fresh meats with my supplements.

“Then I take a nap and sleep soundly. Mom works from home and helps a lot of animals and people. I give some animals advice. Mom doesn’t always know this. At lunchtime mom takes us out to the yard to play ball. She will stretch and eat a salad. In the afternoon we will put Bean the bunny out in the yard to run around.

“My friend Lynda picks me up and we go to Krotona. I meet all the spiritual people who know a lot about gods and goddesses and ways of the universe. There we meditate. This helps me relax and feel nature. It helps me hear better.

“When I get home mom has my dinner ready. She will not still be on a run with Luca. After I eat, mom opens the front door and we go outside to watch the cats get brushed. This is fun because they try to get the attention of the neighbor’s cats to show them how beautiful they are. They love being brushed so I love to watch them.

“Mom asks me to herd Bean back to her pen inside. Then mom either reads a book, works on the computer or watches the news. I don’t mind hearing the news, though many animals do. I think it is good to know what is happening in the world. My mom knows a lot about what happens on different dimensions. When she knows what is happening in this world she is more productive cause she feels like she needs to change so much. After the news mom does yoga. That helps her and us animals in the house release the pain she took in from the people who are suffering around the world. Then mom showers and we will get a treat before bed.

“When we go to bed mom lights a candle on a special alter and we asks all the angels to protect and help all the animals she is working with that are not well or have just gone to heaven. We also say our own prayers and affirmations. We leave the candle burning until we are ready to go to sleep. I will sleep soundly all night long so we can do it again the next day. ”